Prices for milk in the U.S. are on track to break records this year.
In an interview with Brownfield, Peter Vitaliano, the chief economist for the National Milk Producers Federation, tells Brownfield that this year’s milk prices are likely to be nearly two dollars higher than those in 2014.
“We’re looking at $25.70 as the likely average that will come in, which is a lot more,” he says.
Vitaliano says that prices went up so much in March, April, and May that three records were set and broken in a row.
“It’s gone down a little, but so far the monthly prices are still around or above $26 per hundredweight,” he says.
He says that the high prices in the past would have caused farms to grow quickly, but that isn’t happening now because prices are so low.
Vitaliano says that because of this, cheese prices are 13 percent higher than they were last year, and butter prices are up 25 percent.
